Shine’s “Cold Case” heads Stateside

UK producer Shine TV has won a commission from U.S. cablenet Nat Geo to make an American version of its factual series History Cold Case, while also landing a second season order for the original UK version from the BBC.

UK producer Shine TV has won a commission from U.S. cablenet Nat Geo to make an American version of its factual series History Cold Case, while also landing a second season order for the original UK version from the BBC.

National Geographic Channel US has greenlit History Cold Case USA (4 x 60 minutes), which will feature U.S. forensic experts tackling stories based on American-based skeletal finds. The U.S. series is in pre-production now and will air later this year.

It was commissioned by Steve Burns, National Geographic Channel’s exec VP of global content, and the exec producer for Nat Geo is Madeleine Carter.

The series first launched on UK terrestrial BBC Two last year and is produced by Shine in association with Tony Jordan’s Red Planet Pictures. Each episode of the original series saw the forensic team at the University of Dundee’s Centre for Anatomy and Human ID investigating historical finds of human remains.

Martin Davidson, BBC commissioner for history and business, ordered the second season to air on BBC Two later this year. Production is underway now and Cassian Harrison exec produces for the BBC.

Shine TV’s head of specialist factual, Natalie Humphreys, exec produces both the UK and U.S. versions. “The double commission marks a strong start to the year for Shine’s specialist factual slate,” she said.

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About The Author

Senior staff writer Frederick Blichert comes to realscreen with a background as a journalist and freelance film critic. He has previously written for VICE, Paste Magazine, Senses of Cinema, Xtra, Canadian Cinematographer and elsewhere. He holds a Master of Arts in film studies from Carleton University and a Master of Journalism from the University of British Columbia.